ISLAMABAD: With no response from New Delhi so far, the presidential ordinance aimed at providing right of "review and reconsideration" to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav in his convection as per the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s July 17, 2019 verdict is going to lapse tonight (Sunday) at 12:00.
Diplomatic sources said that India has not responded to Pakistan's offer for initiating the process of the "review and reconsideration" at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The ordinance, The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-Consideration) Ordinance, 2020, was promulgated on May 20, 2020, to provide for the legal right of review and reconsideration to foreign nationals, in relation to orders and judgments of military courts.
However, with no response from the Indian side by Saturday, the 60-day validity period of the presidential ordinance is going to lapse on July 20, 2020 (at 12:00 midnight).
On July 8, while speaking at a news conference, along with Additional Attorney General of Pakistan Ahmad Irfan, Director General South Asia and SAARC at the Foreign Office Zahid Hafeez said the government of Pakistan enacted an ordinance on May 20, 2020, to provide an opportunity to the Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, to file a petition for "review and reconsideration" against his sentence and conviction as per the ICJ July 17, 2019 verdict.
On June 17, 2020, he added, Jadhav was invited to file a petition for "review and reconsideration" of his sentence and conviction to exercise his legal right. But he [Jadhav] refused to file a petition for the review and reconsideration and instead insisted on his mercy petition to be considered." He pointed out that a petition for "review and reconsideration" can be filed by; (i) Jadhav, (ii) his legally authorised representative or (iii) a consular officer of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the IHC.
"Pakistan has offered India to assist in arranging legal representative for Jadhav," Hafeez said, adding that Pakistan had repeatedly written to the Indian High Commission, inviting it to initiate the process of review and reconsideration of the sentence and conviction of the RAW agent.
"Instead of using dilatory tactics and playing politics over the issue, India should follow the due legal course and cooperate with the courts in Pakistan to give effect to the judgment of the ICJ," he said, adding that Pakistan was fully cognisant of its international obligations and committed to implementing the ICJ judgment on Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The Indian government has requested that an Indian lawyer be allowed to represent Jadhav in the proceeding.
However, according to Additional Attorney General of Pakistan Ahmad Irfan, there is a legal bar on the appearance of an Indian lawyer, adding that under the law of the country only a lawyer with a lenience of the high court in Pakistan would be able to represent the Indian spy.
He further explained that an Indian lawyer from India or anywhere else could only assist the lawyer who was representing Jadhav in the case, but they could not argue before the court.
Press Release from Ministry of Law and Justice adds:
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Law and Justice Saturday denied the allegations that secretly an Ordinance with a view to giving reprieve to the Indian Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav was promulgated by the federal government, without taking the country or the Parliament into confidence with a mala fide intent.
The allegations are baseless and it is clarified that the Government of India had initiated proceedings against Pakistan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian national, Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, who had been sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan in April 2017. Kindly recall that Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav was a RAW operative, who facilitated numerous acts of terrorism in Pakistan, which resulted in the killings of countless innocent citizens of Pakistan. The ICJ gave its Judgment on 17th July, 2019 wherein it observed that "Pakistan is under an obligation to provide, by means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav, so as to ensure that full weight is given to the effect of the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, taking account of paragraphs 139, 145 and 146 of this Judgment."
In order to comply with the directions of the ICJ, the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated to provide an effective mechanism of review and reconsideration to Commander Jadhav, of Pakistan's own choice. Under Article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, it is the prerogative of the President of Pakistan to promulgate an Ordinance when Parliament is not in session. The Ordinance was promulgated when the Parliament was not in session. Please note that casting aspersions on the decision of the Federal Government to promulgate the Ordinance in question, reflects a poor understanding in respect of Pakistan's delicate security issues and international obligations and is an attempt to confuse the public.
During the past, many Ordinances were issued by the then Federal Governments. The procedure followed with regard to the present Ordinance is no different so there is no question that the Ordinance was illegally or unlawfully promulgated.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
Comments
Comments are closed.